Sabrina Runbeck LLC, Houston, TX (2026)

06/18/2026

𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐡.

But one of the biggest risks is actually emotional decision-making.

In my conversation with John De Goey, he shared something that stuck with me:

Many professionals giving financial advice are still chasing trends, concentrated positions, and hype

Not because they are trying to mislead people, but because they genuinely believe it is the right thing to do.

That same pattern shows up in startups all the time.

Founders overbuild products before validating demand.

Investors chase AI trends without understanding adoption risk.

Teams scale before proving the product is even sellable.

That’s why I kept asking during the episode:

“𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨?”

Healthtech especially is not a fast game.

Long sales cycles.

Clinical validation.

Regulatory complexity.

Enterprise adoption.

You cannot afford emotionally reactive decision-making.

The founders who last are usually the ones who stay disciplined when everyone else is chasing momentum.

Question for founders:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲?

06/17/2026

You can build brilliant diagnostics.

You can publish strong outcomes data.

You can raise capital and hire a smart team.

And still lose.

Why?

Because healthcare does not reward what is smartest. It rewards what gets used.

In the conversation with 𝐃𝐫. Julie Schulz, MD, MPH of Avalon Healthcare Solutions

She said the data is only one small part of the equation.

The bigger question is whether clinicians, nurses, payers, and care teams can act on it inside real workflows.

That is where many founders burn years.

They improve accuracy by 3%.

Meanwhile users are drowning in logins, clicks, prior auth friction, and alerts.

No one buys another burden.

The winning companies are not always the most advanced.

They are often the easiest to adopt.

That means:
Fewer steps
Clearer next actions
Easier approvals
Smoother handoffs
Faster decisions

If adoption is low, do not assume the market is wrong.

Sometimes the product works.

But the workflow doesn’t.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚?

06/10/2026

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝑾𝒊𝒏, 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒔

There’s a shift happening right now.

And if you miss it, you’ll build something great that never scales.

John Showalter didn’t talk about winning with one tool.

He talked about:

💡 Cognitive assessments

💡 Biomarkers

💡 Neurology access

💡 AI integration

All working together.

Because no single product solves healthcare.

The pathway does.

We’re moving from:

“What does your product do?”

To:

“Where do you fit in the ecosystem?”

If your solution depends on someone else doing their job perfectly before you deliver value

You’re exposed.

The winners are building connections, not just capabilities.

So ask yourself:

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆?

🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify to understand how ecosystem thinking changes your growth strategy.

Link in the comment.

06/04/2026

Most founders think acquisitions happen because of flashy headlines.

They don’t.

They happen because someone spent years solving a painful problem nobody wanted to deal with.

In this episode, Mike McSherry shared how Xealth built software that lets doctors prescribe apps, remote monitoring tools, and services directly inside medical records.

That means less friction for clinicians and better follow-through for patients.

Then Samsung bought them.

That’s not luck.

That’s 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲.

Too many founders chase visibility before usefulness.

They spend months polishing decks while ignoring workflow pain customers feel every day.

The market usually rewards the company that quietly becomes necessary.

If hospitals save time, improve outcomes, and reduce chaos because of your solution

Someone eventually notices.

Not every big win starts loud.

Some start with operational excellence no one posts about.

If you’re building right now and wondering whether your hard work matters, remember this:

𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼.

What are you building today that may look small now but could become strategic later?

06/02/2026

𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀

Everyone wants more healthcare access.

Few ask what access feels like when trust is missing.

A patient gets a fast virtual visit.

Different provider each time.

No relationship.

No follow-up.

No one remembers their story.

That is not access.

That is convenience without continuity.

In this episode, Michael Dalton shared why Ovatient focuses on keeping patients connected to trusted health systems instead of creating another disconnected telehealth lane.

He said patients want a provider who knows them, understands them, and builds a relationship with them.

That matters more than founders realize.

Many startups optimize for booking speed.

But loyalty comes from being known.

If your product reduces wait time but increases emotional distance, you did not solve the real problem.

The next wave of healthcare winners will not just make care faster.

They will make care feel connected.

So ask yourself:

𝑨𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚?

05/28/2026

𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝑷𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝑰𝒔 𝑺𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒕

Everyone is chasing scale.

But very few are willing to go where complexity lives.

And that’s why pediatrics is still underserved.

As 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗲𝘀 shared:

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘨𝘢𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘴.”

Let’s be honest.

Pediatrics is harder because:

- No two patients look the same

- Care spans medical, behavioral, social systems

- The “customer” isn’t just the patient. It’s the whole family

So most founders avoid it.

But here’s the opportunity:

The harder the problem, the stronger the moat.

If you can solve for complexity, you don’t just build a feature

You build infrastructure.

🎧 Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts to hear how they’re tackling this head-on.

05/27/2026

I’m going to say something most founders don’t want to hear:

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀.

Healthcare doesn’t reject innovation because it’s bad.

It rejects it because it doesn’t fit.

John Showalter described a reality we all know but don’t design for:

Patients go from primary care → neurology → neuropsych → back again…

And somewhere in that 12–18 month loop, your solution is supposed to “plug in.”

But where?

If your product needs 3 referrals and perfect timing to work

You don’t have a product.

You have friction.

The founders who scale are not building features.

They’re redesigning pathways.

They’re asking:

How do I remove steps instead of adding value to each one?

That shift changes everything.

📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube if you’re serious about fixing adoption, not just building tech.

Link in the comment.

05/20/2026

𝐈𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐔𝐩, 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥

This is one of the biggest shifts happening in healthcare right now.

And most founders still underestimate it.

During my conversation with Patricia Hayes, MD, I said this very clearly:

“𝗞𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽.”

Read that again.

If they don’t know where to go for help

They will search.

If the right platform isn’t visible

They will land somewhere unsafe.

And when your solution is:

- Hard to access

- Slow to respond

- Disconnected from their daily life

You’re not just losing engagement.

You’re losing trust before it even starts.

Technology is no longer just about building tools.

It’s about being present when people need help most.

The real question founders should ask is: 𝑨𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔?

📩 I broke this down deeper in my LinkedIn newsletter.

Go read it if you're building anything patient-facing.

05/13/2026

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Energy everywhere.

Rows and rows of companies showcasing innovation.

But founders often leave with something unexpected:

Confusion.

𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲.

Booth.

Speaking panel.

Networking dinners.

Investor meetings.

In the conversation, Saul W. Marquez and I talked about how founders treat conferences like a marketing lottery.

Talk to enough people and something might happen.

But the companies that win at conferences do something different.

They arrive with a clear strategy:

Who they want to meet.

What message they want remembered.

What outcome they want after the event.

Otherwise the conference becomes activity without traction.

I wrote more about this in the LinkedIn newsletter connected to this episode.

📩Read the newsletter and see how founders can turn conference conversations into real partnerships.

05/13/2026

Niche Is Not Limiting

Danielle Desir Corbett shared something founders don’t like hearing.

Applying to more grants doesn’t increase your odds

𝙄𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.

“If you and the funder wouldn’t stand on the same billboard together,” she said, “skip the application.”

That line stuck with me.

Founders think casting a wide net is smart.

But grants reward precision.

Geography. Demographics. Mission alignment. Clear outcomes.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴.

The same rule applies to investors, customers, and partnerships.

Being specific doesn’t box you in but saves you time, energy, and rejection.

The goal isn’t to convince everyone.

It’s to resonate deeply with the right ones.

🎧Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts.

Link in the comment.

Sabrina Runbeck LLC

06/18/2026

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